1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to apparatus for compressing fibrous materials. The invention has particular application to agricultural uses such as the compacting of hay or the like into self-contained cylindrical rolls, and the invention also has industrial utility for the compaction of other materials. The compaction technique is of the type in which sheets of fibrous material are continuously rolled into a core by the imposition of radial, axial and tangential forces in the core-forming channel confined by circumferentially spaced rollers. This technique is known in the art as "rolling-compressing".
2. Description of the Prior Art
The rolling-compressing technique of forming loose fibrous material into dense cylindrical body had its origin in the early part of this century, when several patents were issued on this process.
The same basic technique was applied for the forming of loose fibrous material into dense cylindrical core suitable for cutting into individual wafers.
Roll-forming apparatus of cylindrical, conical and hyperboloid channel configurations have been developed using skewed rollers, channels with large cone angles, or mechanical means in the channel to induce axial displacements of the formed core.
Roller systems with adjustable or self-adjusting skew angles have also been developed in the past.
Means have also been provided to produce axial resistance forces to achieve a desired core density.
Slicing and metering mechanisms for the cutting of the continuous core into the desired length individual rolls were developed.